There’s a nice photo report over at Akiba Hobby about the current Tamashii Nation show. These are mini-toy shows exclusively for Bandai products. The “tamashii” element stems from one of their flagship collectors toylines, the Soul of Chogokin range. Despite a lot of these being anime specific, many have made their way into games with the upcoming Armor Plus version of Tekkaman Blade being a good example as the character will be playable in the new Tatstunoko vs Capcom update (though there was already a Tamashii Spec set that also included Pegas). Separately, the Spearhead from Eureka Seven was last seen in both Super Robot Wars Z (which we reviewed) and Another Century’s Episode 3. Personally, I’m most excited about the above design; the V2 Assault Buster Gundam from V Gundam, as it’s one of my favourite Hajime Katoki designs and it’s featured heavily in Gundam vs Gundam to boot. There are lots of other mecha toys on display too, so the report is worth a look anyway.

There’s a nice preview of the upcoming RVR-14 Fei-Yen The Knight kit over at GA Graphic. Much like Kotobukiya’s other Virtual On releases, the detailing is suitably superb. The release date is still sometime in December and the kit will cost around 4,000 yen, which is pretty cheap considering the sculpt. Separately, on the Virtual On kit blog there are hints that the next design to get the kit treatment could be the mass produced Temjin, MBV-04-10 10/80SP.

Macross Ultimate Frontier for the PSP is released today in Japan (you can get it here). Naturally, we’ll be reviewing the game in the very near future but in the meantime feel free to read our feature on the more contemporary Macross games available.

The upcoming Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus for the PSP has had a new bunch of screenshots released, displaying the new mobile suits featured in this version. The screens also show some of the initial mission mode screens, which is being called the “Next Plus” mode within the game itself. The game is still scheduled for a 3rd December release in Japan for 6,279 yen.

The rumoured releases of the GP-01 and GP-02 from Gundam 0083 as DLC additions have come true, as Game Watch has a breakdown of the upcoming DLC for Gundam Senki 0081 (which we’ve reviewed in case you’re wondering). It’s interesting to see how these mecha from later in the UC timeline will integrate with units that pre-date them. That said, the inclusion of the RX-178 Gundam Mk. II and the RMS-099 Rick Dias from Zeta Gundam could be a mobile suit too far in terms of the balancing. Each unit will cost between 300 to 500 yen and can only be used in the Free Play mode. Releases are penned for October and November via the Japanese PSN store.

One of the most renowned and influential mecha of all time, that of Tetsujin 28-go, has been given the life size treatment in Kobe. The reason that it’s been erected in Kobe rather than Tokyo is because the creator of the series, Mitsuteru Yokoyama, was born there.

Tetsujin 28-go is also the first real Japanese mecha series, pre-dating the likes of Gundam by almost quarter of a century. Naturally, the series has seen many remakes and sequels over the years, with a new CG film very likely on the way courtesy of Imagi (the same studio behind the upcoming Astro Boy remake).

Personally, my favourite interpretation was the 2004 TV series, as that retained the stylistic overtones from the 50’s and 60’s whilst keeping contemporary production values in terms of the animation. It was also decidedly bleak in terms of the narrative, much more so than the original. The 2004 series also received a video game tie-in (which we’ve reviewed). Interestingly, Tetsujin 28-go has never been featured in a Super Robot Wars game.

Unlike the recent and temporary RX-78-2 Gundam that was in Tokyo, this statue will be a permanent fixture next to Shin-Nagata Station.

The recently released Robot Damashii toy of the ARX-7 Arbalest from Full Metal Panic! has been covered over at R-Side. Much like all other Robot Damashii toys, the Arbalest looks suitably poseable and well sculpted despite the cheaper cost and smaller size. The Arbalest was featured in both Super Robot Wars J and W.

Interestingly, the mecha designer responsible for this design, Kanetake Ebikawa, also penned the titular mobile suits in the recent Gundam 00 (notably that of the Exia and the 00 Gundam itself). In addition, Ebikawa has helmed the mecha design for the upcoming PSP shooter, Darius Burst.

Over on the Little Big Planet Central forums a poster by the name of “donkey show” is on the way to making a Gundam themed level, along with an Exia-esque mecha. Separately, he’s also done some nice customised Gundam Sackboys, seen above. The video below shows the level in action and it’s pretty impressive.

The recently released Soul of Chogokin GX-49 Mazinger Z toy has been given a lovely bit of coverage over at R-Side. This is the recent re-design of the classic Mazinger Z utilising the now new God Scrander featured in Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z Hen. The main aspect of the new God Scrander is how it can transform around Mazinger Z to form a giant fist, known as the Big Bang Punch. Considering how epically potent this attack is in the series it will be interesting to see how Banpresto handle this in a forthcoming Super Robot Wars game (as the Mazinger series is a staple in terms of mecha its line-up).

Separately, R-Side has also covered the recent toy releases of the Big O and Devilfish, both of which were featured in Super Robot Wars Z.

There is some decent, though shaky cam, footage over at Ruliweb for the new Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus on the PSP (right click here for the movie file). It looks much like the previous Gundam vs Gundam PSP port, so solid basically. The presence of the 00 Raiser is a nice addition though and it looks suitably beefy in game.